Domeinen Roerende Zaken

Domeinen Roerende Zaken is a service of the Dutch Ministry of Finance with two statutory jobs, and both of them end in things being sold. DRZ is the legal custodian of goods seized by the police, the prosecution service and the tax administration, and it is also the body designated by law to dispose of surplus property belonging to the Dutch state. Its own explainer opens with the question of what happens to the air force's old F-16s when the ministry of defence buys new fighters — that is genuinely the range here.

What you can buy

• Vehicles — seized cars and surplus state fleet.
• Ex-military equipment and, at the extreme end, retired aircraft.
• Boats and vessels.
• Office furniture and IT equipment from government departments.
• Jewellery, watches and consumer goods from criminal seizures.
• Raw materials, where goods are sold for their material value rather than reused.

How the bidding works

DRZ decides nothing about a seized item on its own: the public prosecutor, the tax inspector or the court decides whether it is kept, destroyed, returned to its owner or sold. When the decision is to sell, the goods go to public auction — and DRZ runs those sales through Onlineveilingmeester.nl rather than a platform of its own. Proceeds from seized goods go towards paying the fine or confiscation order; proceeds from surplus state property go back to the treasury. Surplus goods can also be offered for reuse within government instead of sale.

What to check before you bid

The DRZ site is the authority on what the service does and how viewing works — including the appointment code system for visiting a depot — but the lots and the bidding live on the auction platform. Seized goods carry the usual caveat that ownership was contested until the moment it was not, and they are sold as they stand. The site is in Dutch.